sara watkins under the pepper tree

​Sara Watkins (from the album Under the Pepper Tree available on New West Records) (by Danny McCloskey)
For her solo release, Sara Watkins collects sonic gems and scatters them across Under the Pepper Tree. Family singalongs and the memories they create can be discovered within every note, Sara Watkins covers tunes that claimed her own mind as a child, seamlessly fitting a few of her own songs into the track listing. For Sara, the goal stayed in place for the recording as she kept to the plan of ‘I want this album to be a place of calm, imagination, and relief’. Under the Pepper Tree delicately cradles the tracks with soft acoustics, the melodies alive with stringed instruments supporting, teasing, and surrounding magical moments from film and stage. Opening the album, Sara Watkins reimagines “Pure Imagination” from Willie Wonka, gliding over the “The Second Star from the Right” (Peter Pan) and “When You Wish Upon a Star” (Pinocchio).  
 
Band families come in to help with the recording when her Nickel Creek bandmates, Chris Thile and Sean Watkins, back Sara Watkins on “Blue Shadows on the Trail”, from the film The Three Amigos. Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers hand the reins of their song, “Tumbling Tumbleweeds”, over to Sara and I’m With Her compatriots, Sarah Jarosz and Aoife O’Donovan, while Taylor Goldsmith (Dawes) joins in for Harry Nilsson’s “Blanket for a Sail” and David Garza, along with environmental ambience, is on board for “Beautiful Dreamer”. “You’ll Never Walk Alone”, from Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel, is inspiring as Sara Watkins shares the microphone with her three-year-old daughter for a sweet take on “Edelweiss” (The Sound of Music). Under the Pepper Tree closes its album doors, exiting on the echoey piano notes surrounding The Beatles’ “Good Night”. (by Danny McCloskey)
 
Listen and buy the music of Sara Watkins from AMAZON
 
For more information, head to the Sara Watkins website

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